COLUMBUS, Ohio — Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) officially announced the lineup of presenters for its third Focus Conference of 2015, Purchasing, in Delavan, Wisconsin. The conference will feature sessions from Jason Bader, Jon Schreibfeder, Joe Brady, and Sam Meeks.

Bader, HARDI’s partner in its Branch Manager Certification Program, has more than 25 years working in distribution and is the managing partner of The Distribution Team. During his session, he will teach buyers how to analyze the performance of their inventory in order to make more prudent investments in the future. Bader will discuss methods of analyzing gross margin that give a clear picture on the success of sales and purchasing efforts and where the company makes and loses net profit.

Schreibfeder, president of Effective Inventory Management, has more than 20 years helping all levels of the supply chain improve their investments in inventory. Through his inventory management strategies, he has helped more than 2,000 firms improve their productivity and profitability. He will address inventory forecasting in order to succeed in the difficult goal of maintaining proper inventory levels of various products. The concepts presented in his session will help distributors ensure availability without overstocking in the highly seasonal unpredictable demand that challenges HVAC distributors.

Brady brings 25 years working in the supply chain field and has helped hundreds of companies, including major household brands, as they improve their supply chains. He will discuss the changing role of procurement, as price transparency increases and the need for negotiating decreases, and how this shift will force procurement professionals to understand market trends from a long-term perspective and project spending years into the future.

Meeks brings more than 30 years in various executive roles at wholesalers and currently provides consulting services to help wholesalers improve their purchasing and supply chain profitability. Meeks will discuss the value of forward buying – stocking up on goods when they’re on promotion, and then selling them later when the market rate is higher – as a profit driver and how to successfully execute the strategy.

The Purchasing Focus Conference is designed for HARDI members who serve in purchasing and procurement roles at their organizations. It is the third of four Focus Conferences in 2015, taking place June 7-9. HARDI members can visit hardinet.org/purchasing for more information and to register.